24/7 Wall St.

The futures traded flat Tuesday morning, but the market seemed to be casting a wary eye around the world as tensions are heightened, not only in the Middle East, but in Asia as more bellicose chatter comes from North Korea. The Treasury market also was firm as investors look for a safe haven amidst the geopolitical concerns. With earnings season upon us, all eyes will be quickly turning to the reports as companies release first-quarter results and guidance.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

These are this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS) was started with an Underperform rating at Oppenheimer. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $185.02 to $254.94. The Wall Street consensus price objective is $254.32. The shares closed Monday at $247.66.

Bank of California Inc. (NYSE: BANC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. The 52-week range is $10.93 to $23.24. The consensus price objective is $22.07. Shares closed Monday at $20.30.

Goodrich Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: GDPP) was started with a Buy rating at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The 52-week range is $10.05 to $16.85. The consensus price target is $20.50. The shares closed Monday at $15.95.

MuleSoft Inc. (NYSE: MULE) was a very hot recent initial public offering. The stock was started with a Hold rating at Canaccord and an Outperform rating at William Blair. Since the deal priced, the shares have traded in a range of $21.80 to $25.92, and there is no consensus price target yet. The stock closed Monday at $23.31.

Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTK) saw its target price raised to $36 from $33 at H.C. Wainwright. The firm cited confidence in Paratek’s drug Omadacycline. The 52-week trading range is $9.80 to $25, and the consensus price objective is a stunning $3.80. The shares closed Monday at $22.50.

ProPetro Holding Corp. (NYSE: PUMP) was started with an Outperform rating at Credit Suisse and at Evercore ISI, which has a $19 price target. The company had a recent initial public offering, and it is in the oil services business. The trading range for the stock since the IPO is $12.26 to $15.19. The consensus price objective is not yet available. The stock closed most recently at $14.14.

Swift Transportation Inc. (NYSE: SWFT) was downgraded to Market Perform at Raymond James. The company announced this week it is merging with Knight Transportation. The 52-week range is $14.31 to $27.18, and the consensus price target is set at $26.60. The shares closed Monday at $24.77, up a whopping 24% on the day.

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Longbow. The 52-week range is $18.42 to $49.79, and the consensus price target is $46.17. The shares closed Monday at $47.60.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) was started with a rating of Perform at Oppenheimer. The 52-week range is $23.25 to $38.06, and the consensus price target is $42.22. The shares closed Monday at $32.87.

United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) saw its target price raised to $75 from $72 at Cowen. The company is in the middle of a public relations nightmare as a passenger was forcibly removed from a flight this week. The 52-week trading range is $37.41 to $76.80, and the consensus price target is $83.31. The stock closed Monday at $71.52.

Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

8X8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) was started with an Equal Weight rating at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range is $10.05 to $16.80, and the consensus price target is $18.320. Shares closed Monday at $15.25.

Alcentra Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: ABDC) was started with a Market Perform rating at Keefe Bruyette. The 52-week trading range is $11 to $14.33. The consensus price target is $14.33, and shares closed Monday at $14.23.

Avinger Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord. The 52-week range is $1.45 to $14.48. The consensus price target is $6.06, but shares closed Monday at $1.60.

Knight Transportation Inc. (NYSE: KNX) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. The 52-week range for the shares is $24.42 to $38.80. The consensus price target is $32.92. The shares closed above that level on Monday at $34.75, up over 13% on the merger news with Swift Transportation.

MRC Global Inc. (NYSE: MRC) was started with a Positive rating at Susquehanna. The 52-week range is $11.50 to $22.52, and the consensus price target is $23.88. The shares closed at $19.41.

Pinnacle Foods Inc. (NYSE: PF) was started with a Buy rating at Jefferies with a $67 price target. That compares with a consensus target of $61.88. The 52-week trading range is $41.47 to $59.11. The stock closed Monday at $58.79.

RetailMeNot Inc. (NASDAQ: SALE) was downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse. The 52-week range is $6.69 to $12.93, and the consensus price objective is $10.13. The stock closed Monday at $7.75.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range is $15.93 to $28.45, and the consensus price objective is set at $30.27. The shares closed Monday at $27.70.

In case you missed it, here are Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades. They included Canada Goose, Cypress Semiconductor, Ralph Lauren, Tesla, Well Fargo and many more.